Sunday, January 6, 2013

My trip to Paris, France

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Let me start this post by stating that before I left, I had some preconceived notions on what Paris and the trip overall would be like. I was wrong.

It was far better that anything I could’ve ever imagined! 
Somehow, I still can’t believe I wasn’t dreaming and that I have actually visited the city I’ve dreamed of visiting ever since, as a child, I could pronounce the name “Eiffel Tower”.

Walking in Paris is amazing, and I spent almost the whole time doing so during the two and a half days spent there. 
The city is swarming with tourists, the food is great, the sights are all worth waiting in (the long) lines for, there are in fact streets so small they appear on no map.

Noticing the little things – some of the pedestrian signs cracked me up as never in my life have I seen a man on a pedestrian sign wait with his hands on his hips. 
The city is so stylish that their McDonalds “M” on Champs-Élysées is white instead of yellow (apparently the yellow sign was considered tacky so even McDonalds plays dress up in Paris). 
While you may state my mind is in the gutter I’ll just go ahead and say it anyway – some of the statues seem pretty inappropriate for public display from specific angles. 
And you know how you sometimes wish you could just pull over at the corner? Well people here actually do it, so you need to watch out for cars when crossing the road because you might not see the oncoming traffic on account of the awkwardly parked cars on street corners.

And as opposed to everything I’ve heard about their resentment towards tourists all the locals I spoke to were very sweet and willing to help. 
One lady even confused me for a local (within 2 hours of my arrival) when I asked about a street (apparently I pronounced the name oh-so-correctly in French) until she realized the confused stare came from my not understanding a word she’d just said (plus she talked sooo fast).

To sum it all up: I’ve had the time of my life, many new firsts (there may be a list in an upcoming blog post) and I don’t regret one second of… any of it!


Day trips from Paris: Versailles
Palace of Versailles makes a great day trip

 Monet's garden and inspirationThe